LIMERICK DESERVE more than this but Kerry have never felt obliged to do them any favours.

There is an avalanche of sport landing on the public this summer so another defeat for the valiant Limerick footballers will be quickly forgotten. One hundred and fifteen years without a provincial title. Everything moves on and they will have to as well.

Their marquee midfielder John Galvin was a colossus until Micheál Quirke restored some order in the possession stakes. Galvin harassed incumbent All Star midfielder Séamus Scanlon into a terrible mistake on 53 minutes to score a goal that stalled the Kerry victory march in its tracks.

“John would get on any team in the country,” said Kerry manager Jack O’Connor. “He is a big, athletic lad. He is hard to handle.”

But you can’t falter against Kerry. Limerick couldn’t drive the stake through their heart. Don’t ask Cork to do it either. Mickey Harte is the Dr Van Helsing to The Kingdom’s blood lust for All-Ireland’s these days.

Galvin is just a mortal footballer. A likeable fellow, caked in the sweat of David Moran’s jersey – the young Kerry midfielder’s impressive late cameo earned himself a valuable memento. Galvin tried to put sense to it all afterwards. Just like he did after the Páirc Uí Chaoimh heartbreak 12 months ago.

“There are no words for it. It’s so utterly, utterly disappointing. Again. Another Munster final that we have, I suppose, not thrown away but another one we could have won.

“We had an awful lot of mistakes in the first half. We gave ball away, we kicked wides. We should have been up another five or six points for the amount of ball we had in the first half.

“Saying that they went 1-9 without reply. It is very hard to win a game when a team does that. When we brought it back level, the momentum was with us, and I thought we were going to take it. It was whoever got the next score . . . ”

Galvin is right. Limerick, unbelievably, on the verge of total capitulation were buoyed by his 54th-minute goal, rattling off 1-4 to leave matters poised at 1-14 apiece entering the final 10 minutes. O’Connor made three changes. Two of which, Barry John Keane and Moran, were involved in the key late scores.

“They had cool heads, even when we went ahead, they kept their cool,” admitted Galvin. “They are the All-Ireland champions for a reason.”

Mikey Ned O’Sullivan is the Limerick manager but being a Kerryman with All-Ireland medals adds weight to the following comments: “Every other year in Limerick they don’t take the qualifiers seriously but this group of lads know they are serious operators now. It isn’t just a fluke.

“They have yet to realise their full potential. They will make the breakthrough. It’s only a matter of time. It doesn’t matter where you come from. If you can get the lads believing in themselves, which they do, it’s irrelevant where they come from. There is a great sporting tradition in Limerick. They’ll be back.”

But when. In a few weeks or next year? The summer waits for no team.